South African President Jacob Zuma pledged to intensify efforts to reduce poverty and unemployment and boost economic growth after his party won elections by the lowest margin since it took power 20 years ago.
“We will use our majority to implement policies and programs that further improve the quality of life for all, especially the poor,” Zuma, 72, said at the official release of the results in Pretoria yesterday. “There is a lot that we have to do and we are determined to do more.”
The 102-year-old African National Congress that led the fight against white minority rule has seen its support slide to 62.2 percent in the May 7 election from 65.9 percent five years ago and a post-apartheid peak of 69.7 percent in 2004. The party’s biggest losses came in Gauteng, the richest province that includes Johannesburg and Pretoria, where support tumbled by more than 10 percentage points.
Zuma said the victory allows the ANC-led government to implement the National Development Plan, an economic blueprint that seeks to boost growth to 5.4 percent a year in order to cut the jobless rate to 14 percent by 2020 from 25 percent. The government is estimating economic expansion of 2.7 percent this year.
“This mandate gives us the green light to implement the National Development Plan and to promote inclusive economic growth and job creation,” Zuma said.
